Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Oak Ridge National Lab Shuts Down Internet After Cyberattack

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, home to one of the world's most powerful supercomputers , has been forced to shut down its email systems and all Internet access for employees since late last Friday, following a sophisticated cyberattack.

The restrictions on Internet access will remain in place until those investigating the attack know that for sure that it has been completely contained, said Barbara Penland, ORNL's director of communications.

The lab is expected to restore external email service sometime on Wednesday, however no attachments will be allowed for the time being.

Penland said several other national laboratories and government organizations were targeted in the same attacks, which appear to have been launched earlier this month.

The measures at Oak Ridge were implemented late on Friday night after initial investigations showed that those behind the attacks were attempting to steal technical data from lab's systems and send it to an external system, Penland said.